Every espresso beverage we handcraft for you begins right here. Our master roasters coax the beans along, the heat taking them deep and dark—a recipe for caramelly sweetness so right it’s never been changed.

In addition to increased erosion and infestation by pests, coffee farmers are reporting shifts in rainfall and harvest patterns that are hurting their communities and shrinking the available usable land in coffee regions around the world.

Addressing climate change is a top priority for Starbucks. We believe now is
the time to increase our investments in solutions and strategies that address
this crisis. The steps we're taking not only address our environmental
footprint – they help ensure the supply of high-quality coffee that our
customers expect from us into the future.

Read the Report

Our Climate Strategy

Starbucks has been implementing the Starbucks climate change strategy since 2004, focusing on renewable energy, energy conservation, and collaboration and advocacy. We're working to significantly shrink our ecological footprint by conserving energy and water, reducing the waste associated with our cups, increasing recycling, and incorporating green design into our stores. We're also committed to championing progressive climate change policy in partnership with other businesses and organizations to stop global warming.

Starbucks & CI’s Coffee Carbon Projects

We are concerned about the potential impacts of climate change on coffee-growing regions. To help address this issue, we’ve partnered with Conservation International to conduct pilots to improve coffee production, conserve and restore natural habitat, and explore opportunities to facilitate farmer access to forest carbon markets.

Last year we engaged 29 coffee-growing communities in Sumatra, Indonesia, and Chiapas, Mexico – regions with distinctly sensitive environments and differing coffee-growing traditions – in the pilot programs. We’re now working to engage at least 20 additional communities in these areas.

Through our expanded relationship with Conservation International, we’re piloting forest conservation incentive programs that link coffee farmers to carbon markets. Under this model, we’re working with farmers to carry out actions that reduce carbon emissions or sequester carbon.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions

To better understand and quantify our own environmental footprint, we conducted an inventory of our greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in 2010. Using the World Resources Institute Greenhouse Gas Protocol, we evaluated the major emissions from our global retail stores and roasting operations. Because more than 80 percent of our GHG emissions are attributable to energy for use in our stores, offices, and roasting plants, we are focusing our efforts on energy conservation and the purchase of renewable energy.